Going The Distance
by Mugz83
Summary: When a muggle girl gets sent to Hogwarts by mistake, she learns that she is part of an age old prophecy. When strange things start to happen to her and students start to disappear, all she wants is to go home. When she gets that chance, will she take it?
1. Default Chapter

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A/N: Hey guys! This will be my second Harry Potter fic. This is a little bit different from my last one, but as you'll see I like Draco romances, so again my original character will be paired with him eventually. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a Mary Sue, but if it does, I apologize. I'll try my best!! ^_^ Anyways, this is just the summary part to tell you about the story. Hope you like it! Please don't forget to R&R!!!!! Thanks!

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GOING THE DISTANCE

Story Summary:

Muggle, Elle Carter, grew up in a small Canadian town with her parents. She was adopted when she was just a baby and looking at the family's physical traits, it was very obvious. Both her parents had light coloured hair with dark eyes, while she had raven coloured hair and shocking violet eyes. However, if you were to ask anyone about it, they would just shrug and say that Elle was their daughter. Her parents had always treated her as their own and for that, Elle was very grateful. They were true to the word of family.

But things were very different for Elle at school. She was treated as an outsider by almost everyone and had no real friends. The only friends that she had at all, weren't really even friends. They were just what you would call 'acquaintances'.

But Elle never complained. She just went day to day trying to be invisible knowing that she would have all the freedom she needed after school on her skateboard. She loved to skateboard more than anything. She was what you would call the typical 'skater chick'. She looked the part anyways. But her personality isn't what you would expect. She has a quiet demeanour and shy personality for the most part - but that doesn't mean that she would let anyone trod all over her.

One day, after receiving a phone call from the school principal about Elle, her parents decide to send her to live with her Nana (grandmother) in England to see if this new start would make things better for her.

Elle isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of leaving her parents and living with her blind Nana, but decides to do it since her parents seem to think it might be good for her.

Once arriving in England, she is enrolled at a local school where things don't exactly go over for her all that well. 

One day while on the way home from school, she is chased by a gang of young thugs into the train station where she is knocked unconscious by a fall, only to find herself waking up in a place called Hogwarts. At Hogwarts she learns that wizards and witches aren't just from fairy tales, and that magic really does exist. She also learns some shocking revelations of her importance to an age old prophecy that could make or break the future of all human kind. She becomes frightened and wants nothing more than to return to the world she once knew. When she gets that chance, will she take it? Or will she choose to fulfill the destiny that has been laid out for her? 

This is a story that explores the life of one young girl. We will witness her accomplishments, defeats, and first love. We will be with her while she discovers her importance in this life and who she was in a past life. But most importantly, we will learn how one ordinary girl can rise above those who doubt her and prove to all others, as well as herself, that she is worthwhile.


	2. Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

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A/N: Hey! Well, here's chapter one. I would have liked to have all the chapters wrote out before I even started to post this story, but I just couldn't wait to put it up. This story has been nagging at me forever and I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going with it. It's just that you might have to wait a few days in between chapters while I make up each one. Anyways, enough of that. Please don't forget to R&R!!

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize from the original HP books.

Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

"Elle, your father and I have been thinking that perhaps you should go live with your Nana over in England for a while," Jane sat down on the couch beside her daughter who was now looking clearly distraught.

"But mom! I swear that what happened today wasn't even my fault! Stacey and her perfect little group of friends have been picking on me for as long as I can remember. So what if I snapped on her today?! She went way too far with what she said!" Elle was talking very animatedly and was gesturing with her hands.

"That may be the case, sweetheart. But your father and I are worried about you. You never go out, and you never bring home any friends…" she looked uneasily up at her husband.

"Well maybe that's because I don't have any friends! Besides I have better things to do with my time than going on binges or getting high every weekend. And I still can't believe that you want to send me away after getting one phone call from the principal!" She was standing up now and pacing the living room.

Jane let out a small sigh and stood up with her arms crossed. She gave a look towards her husband begging him to help out with the conversation.

"Elle…" her father, Thomas, started, "that hasn't been the first phone call we've received."

Elle stopped pacing and looked at him with a somewhat surprised look on her face.

"We've had calls from the school before. They're just as worried about you as we are."

"What?" asked Elle quietly. "Why would they possibly be worried about me?"

"It's just that they have been noticing that you spend a lot of time by yourself," came Thomas' response.

Elle shrugged, "So?" Her voice was quiet. "Maybe I'm just a little shy and like to be on my own." She took a seat on the couch again. "It's just that I don't want to be friends with people who can't take me for who I am."

Her parents looked down at her with concern waiting for her to finish.

"So what if I'm a little different than everyone else? All the popular kids are snobby and rich," Elle shook her head. "I don't want to be like that." She looked up at her parents hoping that they would try to understand where she was coming from.

"We're not asking you to be like them, Elle," spoke Thomas in a soft voice. "In fact, we're glad that you're not like most of them. We're happy that you're being yourself despite what the other kids think." He sat down beside his daughter and put an arm around her. "We just think that you might be happier if you had some friends your own age."

Elle looked up into her father's eyes, "And you think that if I moved to England, this would help how?"

"It would give you a new start to things. I grew up in England and I quite enjoyed my childhood." He offered her a smile.

"But what about you guys?" Elle asked, "I don't want to leave you here."

Thomas laughed, "It's not like you'd be leaving forever. Perhaps for just a term, or if you found that you liked it, then maybe you could stay there for the remainder of the year."

Elle looked down at her hands with uncertainty. "How does Nana feel about me coming to live with her."

"She's absolutely thrilled about it. She hasn't been around you for five years and she said that she can't wait till you come to stay with her," Jane smiled hoping that Elle was seriously considering their proposal.

"And you really think that this would be the best thing for me?" Elle looked from one parent to the other for a response.

"We do. But only if you want to go," her father replied. "I think that it'll do you some good to get out there and see some new places."

"Well, if that's what you guys think is best…I guess I'll do it." Elle let a small smile escape onto her face. "I mean, how bad could it be right?"

Both her parents let out a sigh of relief as she agreed.

"When would I be leaving?"

"Any time you want to, dear."

Elle stood up and picked her skateboard up off the carpeted floor where she had set it upon coming into the living room. She nodded slowly as if she was considering how soon she wanted to leave. "You know I'll miss you guys."

Jane smiled, "We'll miss you too." She gave Elle a small hug before watching her daughter turn her back and start up the stairs. 

When she was about halfway up the stairs, Elle turned and looked down at her parents with a small smile. She knew that they were trying to do what they thought was best for her. Perhaps this would be the start to a better life for her. She then turned around with that thought still in her head and continued on up the rest of the stairs and to her bedroom ready to pack.


	3. Chapter 2: A Really Bad Day

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you might recognize from the original HP series.

Chapter 2: A Really Bad Day

"Yeah, mom. I miss you guys too," Elle stood in her Nana's kitchen talking into the receiver that she had held up to her ear. "The plane ride was fine. Stop worrying! This was your idea, remember?" She let a small laugh escape her mouth as she listened to her mother's voice on the other end of the line. "Yeah, okay. Love you too. Bye." Elle placed the phone back on it's cradle and turned to face her Nana. "Thanks for letting me phone long distance. Mom made me promise to call as soon as I got here."

Nana smiled up at Elle, "That's fine, dear. It's just so good to have you here. I can't believe how much you've grown in five years!" She reached up and began to trace the outline of Elle's face with her small wrinkled hands.

Elle allowed the old woman to do so. She understood that this is how she 'saw' things. She looked down into her nearly pure white eyes. She had to admit that they kind of made her feel nervous because they made her look like an old witch from the fairy tales that her mother used to tell her when she was little. But she knew that her Nana was anything but a witch. For as long as she could remember, those had always been what her eyes had looked like and she knew that she was one of the nicest people she knew.

"Elle, you are no longer a little girl. You've grown into a fine young woman, and I'm proud to call you granddaughter."

"Thanks, Nana," Elle said as her Nana let go of her face.

"Come," Nana said in a casual tone. "You start school tomorrow and I must show you your room so you can get settled."

Elle followed her Nana out of the kitchen and down the hallway. They then preceded to go up a few steps before coming to a room that Elle guessed to be hers.

Elle glanced it over before dragging her bags all the way into the room. She couldn't complain. It had a double bed, a dresser in the far corner, and a large standing mirror off to the side. The furniture was a little old fashioned, but it's nothing she couldn't handle.

"What do you think?" asked Nana.

Elle turned to face the old woman in the doorway, "it's great, Nana. Thank-you."

Nana smiled, "Glad you like it, child. If there's anything else you need you'll be sure to let me know."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Elle as she swung her biggest suitcase onto her bed.

"Good. We eat in an hour. I imagine that you're plum tired, but I won't let you be going off to bed without a decent meal in your belly," Nana smiled and turned with her walking cane in her hand and was off back to the kitchen.

Elle shook her head as her Nana left her alone to unpack her things. She couldn't imagine ever being able to live in a world of darkness like her Nana had for the majority of her life.

She took another glance around her new room at the plain white walls and decided that she could definitely make it her own with a little help from some of the X-Games posters she had brought along with her. But first things first. She dug her yellow discman out of her bag, along with her little speakers, and hooked it together. She then took out a Blink 182 cd and popped it into the player. She turned the volume up most of the way and sang to the music as she unpacked. It didn't quite give the same effect that her stereo did at home, but it would have to do. Her stereo didn't fit into her bag, so she wasn't able to bring it with her. But it was her music just the same, and as long as she could hear it, she didn't mind. She just hoped that her Nana wouldn't mind either.

An hour later Elle went down into the kitchen just as her Nana had requested. She turned around the corner quietly and didn't think that her Nana had heard her because she was still focused on the stove.

"Do all kids your age listen to that ruckus?" Nana turned around and was looking right where Elle was as if she could actually see her.

This surprised Elle. How did she do that? How'd she know I was standing right here?

Nana sensed Elle's surprise and smiled. "Just because I'm old and blind, dear, doesn't mean that my hearing's no good," she laughed.

Elle sighed from embarrassment and laughed as well.

"How do you feel about pot roast?" Nana carried a black pot between her oven gloved hands over to the table. She set it onto the table and lifted the lid off.

Elle sat down and took in the aroma. "It smells delicious!"

Nana smiled graciously. "Help yourself."

Elle dug into the food that was in the pot and helped herself to the mashed potatoes and carrots as well. After having two platefuls of food she sat back in her chair and patted her now full stomach.

"That was some meal, Nana," Elle sat straight up in her chair again and grabbed her plate and glass and took it to the sink. "Would you like some help with the dishes?" she offered.

"That would be lovely, dear," Nana replied as she gathered her own plate and came up to start filling up the sink while Elle finished clearing off the rest of the table.

After dishes were done, Elle let out a yawn that told her it was time for bed. She knew it was still early, but back home it was already the middle of the night. Elle was just about to head upstairs to bed when Nana caught her with her voice.

"Dear, before you go to bed, I'll give you this," Nana held out some clothes for Elle to take.

Elle took the clothes and looked at them, "What are these for?" she asked tiredly.

"That's your school uniform for tomorrow."

Elle's eyes went wide. A uniform? No, it couldn't be. She had a feeling that she knew what it was going to consist of. She unfolded the items of clothing. There was a white blouse, a plaid tie, and knee high white socks. And then there was what she had been dreading. A bloody plaid skirt! "Oh," she moaned. "Nana, this can't be right," she said desperately.

"What's wrong?" Nana felt the items of clothing that she had handed over. "Are they the wrong size?"

Oh, if that was the only problem! "No, the size is fine," Elle responded with despair in her voice.

"Well then, what's wrong?" 

"It's a…skirt!" Elle didn't mean to spit out the word 'skirt' with such disgust but that's how it came out. She hated skirts! She hadn't worn one since she was four!

Nana laughed whole-heartedly. "Oh, is that all?"

Elle gaped at her with her mouth wide open. "But you mustn't understand. Me and skirts don't mix well together. I don't DO skirts."

Nana chuckled once again before pushing the uniform back into Elle's hands. "It's only a skirt, dear. All the girls wear them. It won't bite you, you know."

"But Nana, I-" but Elle was cut off.

"Ah!" Nana held up her hand to silence her in a joking manner, "I don't want to hear it. You'll look fine, dear. I promise you!" She reached up and pinched Elle's cheek lightly. "Now, it's off to bed with you!"

Elle threw in her best fake pout, even though she knew that her Nana couldn't see it, she knew that she could sense it. She turned her back and started out of the kitchen.

"Ah, ah!" Nana's voice caught her. "Aren't we forgetting something?" she smiled and pointed to her cheek.

Elle half smiled as she went back to her Nana. How could she have forgotten? Even when she was little, she remembered her Nana always wanting a goodnight kiss on the cheek. Elle leaned down and kissed her Nana on her wrinkled cheek.

"That's better. Now, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Nana," Elle said as she turned and walked up to her bedroom.

When Elle got into her room, she threw her uniform onto her dresser and cursed under her breath about having to wear a 'friggin' skirt. She then dug out her pajama bottoms and a tank top and sprawled herself onto her bed. She hoped that tomorrow would go well for her. She hoped that she would be treated differently than how she was treated at home. And it was with these thoughts floating around in her head that she finally drifted to sleep.

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Beep Beep Beep

"Arghhhh…" Elle groaned as she reached over and shut off her alarm. She stretched out in her bed and reluctantly pushed herself up off her stomach and into a sitting position. She yawned and popped a Good Charlotte cd into her discman. She then walked over to the dresser where her uniform lay from the night before and started to put it on. Once she was fully dressed, she stood in front of her mirror and groaned in defeat. She didn't think she would ever see herself like this. It was murder for her to be in a skirt. She reached down and grabbed her black studded wristband from the surface of the dresser and put it on. She would at least feel a little more comfortable if she wore at least one accessory that she was used to wearing. She then grabbed her brush and untangled her wavy hair. She pulled the sides back into a braid - so that her hair was only half down. She grabbed her reading glasses case and threw it into her book bag along with some school supplies she thought she might need. She didn't have any shoes that would really match her school uniform, so she decided on just wearing her black and white street shoes. She planned on skateboarding to school just like she always did and was very happy that she wasn't told she had to wear dress shoes. It was no big deal anyways. She did care about first impressions, but she didn't think that anyone would notice her shoes. They did match her uniform - well, sort of.

Elle grabbed her skateboard and helmet from the corner of her room and hurried down the stairs. She wasn't running late, it's just that she wanted to make sure that she would find her classroom in plenty of time.

"Morning, Nana," she said as she kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning, dear," Nana replied as she set down her coffee mug. "Help yourself to some breakfast if you like."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm too nervous to eat this morning," Elle said as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured herself some juice.

Nana walked up to her and felt that she had the skirt on and smiled. "See? It's not that bad, is it?"

"No," Elle said reluctantly, "I guess not."

"You'll do fine today," Nana reassured her.

"I hope so," replied Elle as she put her glass into the sink, swung her backpack over her shoulder and strapped on her black helmet that had '_HAWK'_ sprawled across the front. 

"Remember that you have to go down two blocks, turn left at the stop sign, go down for about seven blocks, and then turn right. You won't be able to miss the school. It's right in there," Nana looked like she was meeting Elle's eyes.

"Gotcha, Nana," she said as she opened the door, wishing that she had of written down the directions because she had been known to be forgetful at times.

"Be careful on that contraption of yours, dear. I don't want to have any broken bones," Nana called out to her as she waved good-bye.

"Don't worry! Bye!" Elle waved back as she skated away. She laughed inwardly because that's exactly what her parents had said when she had first gotten her skateboard five or six years ago.

Elle didn't have much trouble finding the school, but when she arrived she received many glares from students - both male and female - that made her feel somewhat uneasy. She figured that perhaps they just weren't used to seeing all that many female boarders.

She took off her helmet as she entered the school and began looking for her homeroom. She felt so…blended with that of all the other students. All the others were dressed in the same fashion as her. Only the guys, of course, were wearing pants - not skirts.

'Lucky guys…they don't know how lucky they are,' she fumed inside her own mind while trying with no luck to pull down her skirt farther so that it reached below her knees.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" came a voice from behind Elle.

Elle turned around to come face to face with a group of three guys. The one who spoke to her stood in the middle. He had black hair and brown eyes - he was quite good looking, Elle thought immediately. She quickly took a glance at his friends, both of whom were a little shorter than the first, but looked just as good.

"I do say…we have some fresh meat!" the one in the middle spoke again as they began to close in around Elle. He gave his lips a disgusting smacking sound and he brought his hand down and reached for Elle's rear.

But she knew what he was trying to pull. She quickly grabbed his hand and threw it away. "Try that again, pal, and you die."

The guy scoffed as he looked at her and then gave her a smirk, "We have a foreigner in our midst. Care for a tour?" He tried to touch her again and she blushed furiously. She wanted nothing more than for him to drop dead.

"I can take care of myself, thank-you!" she said in a rush as she pushed past them. As she walked away, she heard them laughing. She guessed that seventeen year old guys were the same no matter what country you were in.

She continued her way down the hall, still receiving many stares for the skateboard that she carried with her. But she was relieved when she came to what she was told was her homeroom. She carefully entered the room and approached the teacher who was busy writing something up on the board. She handed him the slip of paper that she had been given by her Nana to give to him and took a seat in the chair that he had pointed at.

Just then, she heard a bell sound and everyone took their seats around her. And to her horror, the teacher introduced her to the rest of the class. She blushed a deep purple and wished that she could just disappear. 

Once the class had begun, and the focus of the students was on the teacher once again, Elle took a quick glance around the room at her surroundings and noticed that a couple rows over from her sat that guys who she had come across in the hall. The one who had spoke to her nodded towards her and winked.

This made Elle sink down into her seat further and she just hoped that she wouldn't have another run in with them.

The rest of the school day dragged on for Elle. Between trying to understand the British accent coming out of everyone's mouth, and being tormented by those three guys, she knew that she was going to have her hands full. She hadn't even met any girls yet who wanted to befriend her.

She was glad when the school day was finally over. She followed the rest of the students out the door with her skateboard and helmet in hand. Once she was outside on the school grounds, she set her skateboard down on the pavement and put one foot on it just out of habit. She strapped on her helmet and pulled her book bag over both shoulders. Just as she was about to kick off, high pitched laughter stopped her.

"Oh, my God. What does she think she's doing?" 

Elle turned to find those three guys once more, only this time, there were about five girls surrounding them. 

There was more laughter after they saw the puzzled look on her face.

"Does she think she's making a new fashion statement or something?" said a redhead as she walked up to Elle and grabbed onto the wrist that had the black studded band on it. She held it up for her friends to see.

Elle quickly pulled her wrist from the girl's grasp. She gave her a hard look.

"Get real, sweety. Do you really think that you'll get anywhere in this school by looking like that?" The redhead circled her while lowering her voice so only she could hear. "And…what is that…that _thing_?" she pointed down at the skateboard with a flick of her hand.

"_That,_" Elle said just as rudely, "is called a skateboard."

The girl just shrugged and whisked herself away to her friends, "Never heard of it." 

Elle couldn't help herself. She sarcastically mimicked the redhead's face as she said that last part.

She got a laugh from the guys in the group, but all the girls scoffed.

The red head came towards her once again with an angry glare. "Do you even _know_ who I am?" She got right in Elle's face.

Elle didn't back down, but instead stood her ground. And before she could stop herself, she said "Do I _even _care?"

That put the redhead on edge. She freaked out in a very ditzy way and turned to face her group of friends, "Duncan? Did you hear what she said to me?"

The guy who had spoken to Elle in the hall was the one to answer, "Sorry, baby. I didn't hear her say anything." Him and the guys gave a little snigger once the redhead's back was to them once again.

The redhead turned to Elle again, "You'll be sorry you crossed paths with me you little filth."

Elle just shook her head, "Somehow, I'm not all that worried."

And with that, she just boarded away from them leaving the redhead speechless.

She found herself reaching her Nana's house in no time. She entered through the side door and called out to Nana. But no one answered and so Elle went into the living room of the house and dropped her things on the floor. 'What a day,' she thought to herself as she plopped herself down on the piano bench. She let her fingers play around with the keys, making no particular melody as she thought about her day. She had never felt so alone. She couldn't believe that she didn't make even one friend on her first day. Although, she was pretty sure that she made more than one enemy. She thought that for all it was worth, she may as well have stayed at home.

As her fingers danced across the piano keys, she found herself playing a certain melody that she had heard a few times before. She was the only one in her family who was somewhat musically inclined, and although she preferred punk rock, she loved to play the piano. She recognized the melody from a movie she had once seen. While she played, she began to sing the lyrics.

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I have often dreamed of a far off place

Where a hero's welcome will be waiting for me

Where the crowds will cheer 

When they see my face

And a voice keeps saying

This is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there some day

I can go the distance

I will find my way

If I can be strong

I know every mile will be worth my while

When I go the distance 

I'll be right where I belong

Somehow, Elle felt strongly about these lyrics - that this was how she truly felt at this point in her life.

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Down an unknown road to embrace my fears

Though that road may wander

It will lead me to you

And a thousand years would be worth the wait

It might take a lifetime

But somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back

I can go the distance

And I'll stay on track

No, I won't accept defeat

It's an uphill slope

But I won't lose hope

Till I go the distance and my journey is complete

She knew that it was doubtful she would ever make any friends at this new school if today was any indication on how her time here would go. She didn't know why, but this thought hurt her. Perhaps she just wasn't meant to have friends. Maybe she was really meant to live life as some sort of hermit. She knew that she hadn't been wanted by her biological parents - they had just left her on her parents' doorstep. There wasn't even a note explaining why they were leaving her. This rejection was probably the thing that had hurt her the most in her life.

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But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part

A hero's strength is matched by his heart

As Elle thought about this, she felt like she was going to cry. But she managed to hold back the tears.

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Like a shooting star I will go the distance

I will search the world

I will face its harms

I don't care how far 

I can go the distance

Until I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms

I will search the world

I will face it's harms

Till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms

As Elle played the last cord, she heard clapping coming from behind her.

"That was beautiful, dear," Nana came up and sat beside Elle on the piano bench.

Elle was thankful at the moment that Nana couldn't see her face because she was sure that her eyes were brimmed with tears. "I wish your father could play like that when he was your age. I couldn't get him to sit down and practice if his life depended on it!" She laughed and was surprised to get no reaction from Elle. Sensing that something was wrong, she cupped Elle's face in her hands and wrinkled her brow in worry, "Child? What is it?"

Elle just shook her Nana's hands off her face gently and said it was nothing.

"Don't even try to lie to me, my dear," Nana said. "Did your first day not go so well?"

Elle sighed in frustration. "No. It was almost as bad as every day I have spent at my old school."

"What happened?" asked Nana, her white eyes narrowed in concern.

"Nothing. It's just that I happened to meet up with the rich, snobby bunch. It's like I can't get away from them no matter where I go!" Elle threw her hands up in frustration. "It's like another group of Stacey and her friends to deal with."

Nana nodded in understanding, "That girl you got into a fight with at your old school, you mean?"

Elle nodded, forgetting that Nana wouldn't notice. 

"What did happen between you two, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Stacey has been a pain in my side for as long as I can remember. She's always making fun of me for any reason she can find. Last week, she told me that the only reason my parents took me in was because nobody else wanted me. Not even my own biological parents. I don't really know what happened after that…I guess I just snapped and before I knew it, I had punched her in the face." Elle paused and felt Nana place a hand on her shoulder. "She called me worthless…and because of that, I've promised myself that I will prove her wrong." And then she added with more determination in her voice, "Someday I will prove myself. I'm not just some mistake that was left on a doorstep in the middle of the night. I know there's more to me than this…there has to be…"

"Elle, sweetheart," Nana said softly, "Stacey had no right to say that to you, whatever her reason for doing so was. I promise you that you're not worthless. You have a family who loves you very much." She knew that Elle's silence meant that she was somewhat unsure. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe…that you were left on that doorstep for a reason. You do have a purpose, I promise you that. You shouldn't let the harsh words of others get you down. Alright?"

Elle nodded as she looked down at her hands. "Thanks, Nana."

Nana smiled, "Now, why don't you go wash up? You can help me make dinner tonight."

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Beep…Beep…Beep…

Elle groaned while she rolled over to shut off her alarm. She squinted her eyes to see what time it was.

Her eyes went wide as she realized that she only had ten minutes before the first bell rang. "Shit," she quietly scolded herself and dashed out of bed and put on her uniform. She raced around the room trying to get ready, throwing stuff into her backpack while attempting at the same time to brush the tangles out of her hair. "Oh, man…" she became frustrated and quickly pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail.

"Nana!" she yelled as she ran down the steps and came face to face with her in the kitchen. "I'm off! Talk to you later," and giving her Nana a quick kiss on the cheek she raced out the door not stopping to listen to what her Nana was calling out to her.

"Oh, no…" Elle's shoulders dropped as she realized for the first time that it was pouring rain. "Great, just great." She threw down her skateboard and started off to school, pushing herself faster than she ever had before.

She arrived five minutes late and was sure the entire world could hear her shoes squeak as she ran down the hallway to homeroom. 

Once she reached the classroom door, she entered the room only to have all eyes rest upon her. The teacher didn't say much to her but instead gave her a sympathetic look. As she walked to her desk, she heard giggles from students as she passed. She didn't realize what they were giggling about until she sat down in her seat. For the first time, she realized how soaked she was. She must have looked a wreck! Her hair was tangled and her clothes were nearly soaked through. She wished that her classmates would stop staring at her. 'Man,' she thought to herself as she laid her head on the desk, 'I definitely can't wait until this day is over.'

Unfortunately, her day didn't get any better. She was at her locker just after the first bell of the afternoon had gone when she was shoved from behind. She fell into her locker and it was slammed shut behind her. 

"That's what you get for messing with me, new girl!" That statement was followed by a mass of giggles and Elle knew exactly who it had come from.

"Hey!" she yelled from inside the locker. "Let me outta here!" She hit her fists hard against the locker door. "Is anybody out there?! Please open this door!!" But her cries for help would go unnoticed. Finally, after a good five minutes of yelling and hitting the door she finally gave up. She gave her fist one last hard slam against the locker, "Damn her!"

But to Elle's surprise, the locker door flung open. She stood there for a moment in shock as she carefully stepped out of her locker. She didn't really think too much about it, as she thought that she just didn't know her own strength. 

She picked up her skateboard and backpack, deciding that she'd had enough of this for one day. She was heading home. 'Things definitely couldn't get any worse than this,' she thought to herself as she stepped out into the rain once again.

Elle took her time going home that afternoon. She trudged along carrying her skateboard in one hand allowing the rain to soak her right through.

As she turned a corner, she raised her head to find that she had turned into an alley of some sort. It was very dark, and it was only then that she realized that her day dreaming had caused her to become lost.

"Great," she murmured so that only she could hear. She spun around and looked both ways to see if she could place her position.

"Is the little pretty lost?" a raspy voice came from the alley.

Elle spun around to come face to face with three thugs. The one on the far left held a chain, the one in the middle walked towards her with a metal pipe, and the one on the right pounded his fists. The guy with the pipe came right up to her as she tried to back away and grabbed onto her arm. "Come on, sweets, we aren't gonna hurt you…well, at least not until we're through with you." All men laughed as if it was some great joke.

Elle tried to pull away from him but his grip was strong. Fear immediately set in. Without hesitation, Elle gave him a swift kick between the legs, and he crumpled up releasing her arm. She ran away from the men as fast as her feet would carry her and could hear their threatening yells coming from behind her. She turned one way and then another…she was panting so hard…she was so scared. She had no idea where she was going! 

At one point she looked behind her and saw that they were only twenty or so feet behind her. God! They were catching up to her!

She squinted through the rain hitting the ground hard around her, and turned onto another street. She looked straight ahead and saw a sign that read 'King's Cross'. If it was a public place, then she thought she would be safe. She headed through the doors of the building and turned onto the platforms. There were people in there, but still, it wasn't all that crowded.

Elle hid behind the Platform ten pillar. She peeked around it and saw the three men fanning out, obviously trying to find her. How much worse could this day get? 

Seeing that one of them was coming towards her, she made herself as scarce as possible and sighed a breath of relief as he passed her. She let her full weight lean against the pillar, but she found herself falling completely backwards instead. The wall had disappeared! She let out a small scream as she fell backwards into pitch blackness…

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A/N: In the next chapter, Elle finds herself at Hogwarts. How will she take it when she finds out that wizards and witches really do exist? And why was she sent to Hogwarts? Stay tuned to find out! And don't forget to review to let me know what you think of the story so far!! ^_^


	4. Chapter 3: From A Fairy Tale To Reality

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize from the original HP series. And I forgot to put a disclaimer on the song 'Go The Distance' for the last chapter. That doesn't belong to me either.

Chapter 3: From A Fairy Tale To Reality

"Albus, what do you make of this girl? Is she a threat?" 

Elle heard a quiet, worried voice speaking somewhere near her.

"Now, Minerva, I don't believe that she posses us a threat," said an old, much calmer voice. "But I suppose that we won't know for sure until she awakens. Only then can we get our answers." 

There was a short pause before the old voice spoke again. "Pomfrey? How is she doing?"

Elle heard a new voice answer this time, "The poor dear was soaked to the bone. I'm surprised that she hadn't caught cold. But as soon as she drinks this, I'm sure she'll be back to her old self again."

Elle felt her head being propped up and a warm, strong tasting liquid being poured down her throat. She choked on the liquid and that brought her full back into consciousness. She sat up quickly as the old woman in front of her made her drink the rest of the liquid. She managed to take another swallow of it, before pushing the glass away.

"What is that stuff?" she choked out and for the first time she realized that she was in a room that she didn't recognize. She looked around the room that was highly furnished and found herself to be in the company of two men and two women. There was one man who was clad all in black. He had extremely greasy hair and pasty skin. The other man was very old - he had on long blue robes, a long white beard and he wore small spectacles on his face. The woman who was standing closest to Elle had on what reminded her of some sort of nurse's uniform and had her grey hair pulled up under her head ware. And finally, Elle looked past her and her eyes fell upon another woman who wore her hair up in a tight bun on the top of her head. She looked somewhat nervous about the whole situation.

Elle all of a sudden felt a little nervous herself and moved her feet over the side of the couch that she had been laying on, "Who are you?" Her voice came out smaller and quieter than it was meant to making her seem just as vulnerable as she felt. She looked from one person to the next hoping that someone would fill the silence with an answer.

The old man with the beard stepped forward so that he took the place where the nurse had stood. "My name," he began calmly, "is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Head Master of Hogwarts." He gestured with his hands as he sat down beside Elle which allowed her to see the bright twinkle in his blue eyes. 

Somehow, Elle was no longer afraid when she heard him speak. "Hogwarts…" she said with confusion.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at her as he explained, "Hogwarts is a school of witchcraft and wizardry."

Elle looked at him wide-eyed, "Witchcraft…and wizardry? You mean to tell me that you…you're all…?" she looked at everyone in the room.

Dumbledore nodded again, "Yes, you would be correct."

Elle looked at him in disbelief and stood up. "No, this can't be. This is all some sort of dream. When I fell…" she tried to reason, more with herself than to the others around her, "I must of hit my head. Yeah, that's what must have happened…"

"Please calm yourself," Dumbledore had rested a hand on her shoulder. "I assure you," he said as she turned around to face him, "that this is no dream. This is indeed real."

Elle looked at him as this information sank into her. She slowly lowered herself back onto the couch and looked up at those standing around her. 'Let's pretend that for one second I'm actually awake here and these people are who they say they are,' thought Elle to herself. But her thoughts only lead her to one question. "Why am I here?" she looked up to meet Dumbledore's eyes.

"We were hoping," said Dumbledore, "that you could tell us."

Elle looked back down and shrugged slowly, feeling very confused.

"Perhaps Minerva is right," spoke an accusing voice, "maybe this is all a trap. Another one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's traps!"

Elle looked up at the greasy haired man who spoke. She knew that she wasn't going to get along with him very well.

"Now, Severus, let's not be too hasty," Dumbledore said.

"But how do we know that she isn't a danger to this school?" demanded Severus.

Dumbledore clearly looked as if he was considering this question before he gave a knowing glance towards Elle. He then walked over towards a stool that was in the corner of the room and picked up an old looking hat off of it.

Elle watched him carefully as he walked back towards her with it. 

"Please," he gestured for her to put the hat on and she did so. 

Elle jumped as the hat began to speak out loud.

"Ahh," it said as it began to move a bit on her head. "Elle Carter is your name. You hail from the muggle world, although that is not where you really come from…" Elle felt confused by what this hat was saying. She watched the reaction that everyone around her had, but found that most of the faces were intent on listening to what the hat had to say.

"Yes…yes, I see," the hat continued. "You are the one. The one that this world will ultimately depend on. An age old prophecy has laid out a path for you…an unknowing girl wanting to prove herself…a forbidden love that is your true love…a task that you must willingly choose to take. Your heart shows bravery and determination. You have a good head on your shoulders as well. Ah, yes…you are much like one who has come before you…one who followed a path and unknowingly caused what you must destroy…"

Elle tried to take in all that the hat had just said. It wasn't making any sense!

"But if I am to sort you…there is only one place where you belong. GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally yelled out and went silent once more on her head.

"There we have it," Dumbledore said after a few moments of silence. He took the hat off her head and set it on a nearside table.

The woman with the tight bun approached Dumbledore with her hands clasped tightly together, "It can't be her, Albus, can it? After all this time…it just can't be…"

"She's a MUGGLE!" spat Snape. "There's no way that she can be the one! The sorting hat made a mistake!"

"Professor Snape, if you please! Calm down," Albus said with a little authority trying to calm the man. "The sorting hat hasn't been wrong in the past, and we have no reason to doubt it now." He paused as he looked back at Elle with a kind smile. "There's no other way she would have been able to come through the platform…she is from a magic lineage."

Elle looked at him blankly. "You mean to say that I'm…I'm a witch?"

Dumbledore nodded at the girl.

Elle felt that this was way too much to take in at once. "I don't understand…"

Dumbledore gave another kind smile, "Don't worry. All will be explained in time. I assume that since you never knew of your lineage, that you don't know any magic or anything else associated with this world?"

Elle shook her head 'no'.

"Very well, then. We will get you caught up to speed." Albus then turned around and addressed the professors. "Professors? Can I count on you to help our new student to catch up in class?"

"Of course," replied Minerva.

"Yes, but even if we did that, she still needs to learn things that students learn in earlier years to be able to be at the same level as other students," replied Snape.

"Point well made, Professor. That's where our head students will come in." Dumbledore then turned towards Minerva and asked, "Will you be so kind as to go fetch our head boy and girl?"

"Of course," replied Minerva as she promptly walked out of the room.

Snape just folded his arms in front of him as he couldn't argue with the idea Dumbledore had.

"Severus," Dumbledore asked with patience, "Could you please go ask Mr. Potter to come up to my office?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore with a slight grimace of the idea of having to go get Harry and with a curt nod left the room. 

Pomfrey followed him out saying that she had work to get finished.

Dumbledore then turned to Elle with a twinkle in his eye and lowered himself down to her level. "You, my dear, have nothing to worry about. In all due time, you will learn about this world and why you are here…"


	5. Chapter 4: Prophetic Future

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A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that it's taken me so long to upload another chapter. Could someone please R&R for me? I'm starting to wonder if anyone has even read it yet. Thanks!

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Disclaimer: I'm nothing but a poor university student. *Stupid tuition fees…grrrrr* If you haven't caught the gist, I don't own anything associated with the original HP series.

Chapter 4: Prophetic Future

Elle sat nervously on the couch watching as Dumbledore stood up to his full height and then turned and walked back to his desk. She didn't turn around so that her eyes could follow him as he walked back behind her but knew when he had reached his desk as she heard him ruffling through papers.

Elle swallowed hard as she took a glance around the room in small awe as to how many books lined the walls. Her eyes then came around to rest upon a magnificent looking bird. It was so beautiful and she couldn't help but stare at it's glowing aura. She was just about to ask Dumbledore about it when she heard a knock upon the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore called out towards the door as he came up beside Elle once again.

Elle turned her attention to the door that swung open to reveal the female professor and two other students who looked to be about her age. The first was a girl who stood, Elle guessed, at just below her own height. She had brown hair that was a little on the bushy side and gave Dumbledore a small smile as she entered.

The other one was a guy with light blonde hair who stood almost a head taller than the girl. Elle couldn't help but notice that he had very cold features and gave a curt nod towards Dumbledore when he entered.

"Ah," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Elle Carter," Dumbledore looked at Elle motioning for her to stand up, "I would like you to meet our head girl and boy. This is Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."

Elle reached out to shake Hermione's hand and received a warm smile from her as she shook it. She then offered her hand to Draco but he just offered her a cold glare in return, not taking it. Elle bit her lip as her face flushed a bit and her hand retreated back to her side. 

Dumbledore watched this with a somewhat amused twinkle in his eye, almost as if he knew something that the rest of the world didn't. "Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy," he turned to address them. "Elle is new here at Hogwarts and because of a certain string circumstances she has had no previous training in the magical arts. I am in the hopes that you two, along with the help of your professors of course, will help tutor our new student so that she can attempt to catch up with the rest of the seventh years."

Hermione nodded politely towards Dumbledore. She had her doubts - catching a student up fully for seventh year would prove difficult.

Draco didn't give any sort of sign of agreement, instead he looked with an unreadable expression at Elle and then back towards Dumbledore.

"Am I right to trust you two with that task?" asked Dumbledore.

"Of course," was Hermione's reply.

"Yes professor," came Draco's own icy voice.

Dumbledore smiled at them all in content just as another knock came upon the door. This time Snape came in with a tall boy who had scraggly black hair. His emerald eyes struck Elle instantly as he gave her a confused glance.

"Ah! Harry, there you are," Dumbledore waved for the boy to come right into the room. He then turned back to Hermione and Draco. "You two are excused to go back to your classes."

Hermione and Draco turned to walk out past Harry and when Draco passed him, Elle couldn't help but notice that he gave Harry a look that would have killed. She sensed some tension between the two. 

"Harry Potter, this is Elle Carter," Dumbledore continued once Hermione and Draco had left the room. He then motioned for Harry to take a seat on the couch beside Elle before he turned his attention back to the other professors, "Professors, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to speak to Harry and Elle in private." 

The professors exchanged wary glances before nodding and heading out of the room.

"Elle," he turned his eyes back to the students, "Harry here is somewhat of a legend in our world."

Elle turned to look at Harry and caught a slight pink hue creeping up into his cheeks.

"He is the only one to have survived encounters with a wizard named Voldemort. Now, I know that this name doesn't mean anything to you now, but you must know that Voldemort is a very dangerous wizard," Dumbledore spoke very solemnly and he looked at her carefully before continuing. "He is the one that you two are said to ultimately to destroy."

"Excuse me, professor," Harry looked over at the old wizard with slight confusion. "But what are you talking about?"

Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry, "There is an age old prophecy among wizards, Harry, that states when dark times arise, two young souls will reveal themselves in the face of much adversity to defeat the evil that lives within another. And for the longest time, we have believed that one of those souls is you. You have fought Voldemort time and time again and have lived to tell about it." He then shifted his gaze towards Elle, "And the other soul has been thought to be that of a young girl who would hail from the outside world." He gave her a kind smile. "And I believe that to be our new student."

Elle opened her mouth slightly as if to ask something but then shut it again feeling like she shouldn't speak.

Dumbledore noticed her uncertainty and prompted her, "You are welcome to speak freely here."

Elle looked at him shyly wondering is he was a mind reader or if her face was really that readable, "Um, I don't really understand how it can really be me who you are looking for. I mean, I'm not a wizard or a witch or whatever…" she became a little flustered from the confusion she felt and stopped to collect her thoughts. "I think you have the wrong girl. I'm not…I can't defeat some powerful wizard. I'm not exactly the heroic type to be honest with you." She took an exasperated breath and went off on her own little tangent. "I mean, I can't even watch scary movies because my imagination likes to work overtime at night and I can't sleep, then I think I hear something but it's really nothing-"

Dumbledore smiled at her and put up his hand to silence her.

"I'm sorry," she said as she realized that she had just embarrassed herself. "I just really think that you have the wrong person for the job."

"Only time will reveal if you truly are the one we have been waiting for," Dumbledore stood up and looked at her with a knowing glance. Feeling that no more needed to be said at the moment about the prophecy, he turned to Harry, "Harry, if you would be so kind as to take Elle to the Gryffindor dorms and show her around a bit? She will find the books and materials she will need for classes in a trunk at the end of her bed. You will also notice that some of your belongings have been taken to your room as well." 

Harry stood and Elle followed his lead but looked at the headmaster in confusion. However, she didn't say anything.

Once Elle and Harry had said their good-bye's to Dumbledore and had left his office in silence, Elle broke it by asking Harry, "How did he get my stuff here?"

Harry smiled down at Elle knowing that he wouldn't be able to explain, "You know, Dumbedore is a very mysterious man. Sometimes it's just best to not question him. Otherwise, you end up with a whole lot of other unanswered questions." He let out a small laugh and Elle smiled.

***Draco's POV***

I leaned in closer to the statue as Potter and the new student left Dumbledore's office. I was surprised to think that this could be the girl from the prophecy. She's a muggle! Surely they could do better than that? I laughed at the thought. My lord will have no problem with her. A muggle poses no threat to the all powerful Voldemort. I must tell him at once what I have heard. I have been in his services only a short while now and I want nothing more to please him. It will be made all the more easier if I have to watch her myself though. No one will stand in my lord's way to power…_especially _this pathetic muggle…


	6. Chapter 5: Spells and Mishaps

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Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything you recognize from the original HP series.

Chapter 5: Spells and Mishaps

Elle let out a sigh of exhaustion as she fell backwards onto her new bed. She liked the softness of it and thought about how good she should be able to sleep on account of all the exercise she had just gotten. After a great meal in what she considered to be the biggest hall she had ever seen, and after the tour that Harry, Hermione and Ron had just given her she thought that she deserved a good night's sleep. She couldn't believe how big the school was or how many students it contained! She doubted that she would remember half of the people that she had been introduced to, let alone where all of her classes were. At least she knew the other girls who shared her dorm room. 

She turned her head to look towards a couple beds over where her other two room mates were sitting and giggling about something. Parvati and Lavender. She then wondered if the occurrence of giggles was something that she would have to put up with on a regular basis.

She let a tired smile cross her face as she snuggled her face into her pillow. Tomorrow would be her first day of classes and she was determined to have things go well. Her smile then faded as she thought about how different things would be here and how much she missed her family. She wondered how she would get home. Perhaps that would be something that would have to be discussed with Dumbledore. But that would have to be at a later time, for right now, all she wanted to do was sleep. Her eyes slowly flickered shut as she let herself slowly drift off into slumber. The last thought in her mind was how cool it was going to be to learn magic.

**********

"My lord, I bring news from the school," Draco stood in a darkened room. He looked across it and as his eyes got used to the dim lighting, he could see the silhouette of the back of a chair.

There came no answer and so Draco took this as his cue to speak. "The girl of prophecy has shown up. Dumbledore has taken her in. He has the professors, as well as the mudblood and myself catching her up in the magic ways as she is only a muggle and knows no magic."

"So, the prophecy comes true at last," a raspy voice came from the direction of the chair. "The muggle girl you speak of is the one who is supposed to destroy me. Yet you say she has no magical training. There is no way she could posses the power to rid of me…" the voice trailed off.

"My lord, I am certain no muggle poses you a threat. Dumbledore is wrong. He-" Draco was cut off.

"I did not give you permission to _speak_ servant!" the voice bellowed through the darkness of the room.

"My apologies, my lord," Draco said with slight fear evident in his voice.

"Dumbledore has never been wrong about something of legend before. He knows something we don't. I want you to find out what that is. Get close to the girl…get as close as you want. Find out all you can about her."

Draco let a dark smile slip upon his face. He knew exactly what his master was talking about.

"I am counting on you my faithful death eater. Do not fail me."

"Yes master. I will do as you say…" Draco allowed the smile to linger on his face a moment longer before turning on his heel and leaving his master to bask in the shadows.

**********

"Elle! It's time to get up!" 

Elle rolled over and forced her eyes to open. Above her stood Hermione who had shaken her awake. "Do I have to?" She stuffed her face back into her pillow.

"Yes! Now up!" Elle thought that Hermione sounded awfully cheerful for it being so early in the morning.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." Elle rolled out of bed and got to her feet.

Hermione pushed her over to her dresser and took out her uniform for her. 

Elle put on the uniform and raised her hands in defeat. It was another ruddy skirt. But she had to laugh at her own reflection. She just couldn't win! 

After Hermione had packed up the books that she would be needing for the day, she took Elle by the arm and lead her down to the great hall for breakfast.

**********

Elle walked along with Hermione, Ron, and Harry down into the dungeons and into what was the Potions room. There were only a few spots left and Harry and Ron took a seat next to each other, while Hermione took a seat beside Seamus leaving Elle to take the seat next to Neville.

Neville offered Elle a shy smile when she sat down next to him which she returned.

Just then the door flew open and in walked Snape, his cloak billowing out behind him. He strode up to the front of the room and began to introduce the potion that they would be brewing in class. 

Elle tried her best to follow what he was saying but was finding it extremely hard. And after the lecture part of the class, Elle didn't know what else to do but to follow the lead of everyone else. She slowly got out her cauldron and the ingredients that they needed and watched Neville as to how he prepared everything. She tried her best to copy his every move and soon found herself feeling a little more at ease. It almost felt as if she was following a recipe in some sort of oriental cookbook or something.

After she thought that she had all the ingredients in the potion that was needed, she slowly picked up the stirring spoon and put it into the pot with a proud smile on her face. "Well, that wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be," she said out loud to Neville who all of a sudden had a look of slight fear cross his face as he looked over towards her pot.

"Uh, I don't think-" he started to say but what cut off by a sudden explosion from her pot.

Everyone turned to look at Elle and as soon as the smoke cleared, her sooty face came into view.

Elle coughed as she waved the thin remaining wall of smoke away and looked over at Neville. "What was that you were saying, Neville?" she said with a very uncertain voice.

Neville looked at Elle and she could see that half of his face and robes were covered with soot as well. "Well, I was just going to tell you that you forgot to add your frog's eyes," he said with sympathetic face as he pointed at the jar next to her.

"Right," she nodded her head in embarrassment, "I'll have to remember that for next time."

By now the whole class was laughing, well at least all the Slytherins were and she couldn't help but notice that the Gryffindors were having trouble holding their own laughter back as well. 

Elle looked up to see professor Snape standing in front of them with his arms folded across his chest and a very stern look on his face.

"I didn't think anyone was worse than Longbottom. But you, Carter, have proved me wrong," Snape's voice was cold and loathing. He looked down at the young girl and saw the evident fear that was in her eyes.

"I - I'm sorry professor," Elle's voice came quiet as she looked down at her hands not being able to stand his glare on her any longer. "I can promise you that it won't happen again."

"It better not!" came Snape's crude reply but after seeing Elle cringe at the sound of his voice he added in a more controlled tone, "I will not take any points away from your house this time Ms. Carter. But I can assure you that if your carelessness keeps up then your housemates will have no one else to blame but you for their lack of points. Understood?"

"Y-yes sir," came her stuttered reply.

"Good. Now, I expect this to be cleaned up before you leave for the day. The rest of you are dismissed." With that, Snape walked up to his desk, gathered some papers and left the room with the students.

With the room nearly empty now, Elle noticed for the first time that Neville had already started to clean up her mess for her.

"Oh, Neville, you don't have to do this," Elle said with an embarrassed face as she started to gather up shattered pieces of glass.

"It's fine, really," he replied and offered her a kind smile. "Besides, I know how you feel. It's usually me blowing things up in this class. I can't tell you the relief it was to have someone else do it for a change."

Elle laughed at what he said.

"Elle?" came a voice from behind her.

She turned around to face Hermione, Ron, and Harry. 

"Would you like us to wait for you?" asked Hermione.

"No, that's okay you guys. You go ahead," Elle replied and turned back around to see that Neville was using his wand to clean up a lot of the mess.

"We'll only be a minute," said Neville as he lifted the glass particles into the air using a spell to put them into the trash.

"We'll tell McGonagall that you'll be right there then," Harry gave both Neville and Elle a smile before leading Ron and Hermione out of the room.

Elle turned back to Neville to find that he was just finishing up cleaning the soot off the desk. Only, she noticed, that he wasn't actually doing anything. "How are you doing that?" she asked.

"It's magic," he replied looking at her curiously. 

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Magic," she said unsurely because she had actually forgotten that she was in a new world where magic could do anything. "Well, thanks for helping me clean," she said with a smile.

Neville nodded in reply as he gathered his books and looked on at her in amazement. How could she have not known about a simple cleaning spell?


	7. Chapter 6: Lessons on Flying and on Lif...

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A/N: I want to send a HUGE thank-you out to those who reviewed!! Your praise was very much appreciated!! ^_^ I had just about given up that anyone was even reading this story when low and behold I opened my e-mail this morning and found not one but SIX reviews!! It was such a great feeling!! I dedicate this chapter to those of you who reviewed for me! I hope I don't disappoint you with this next chapter!! 

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize from the original HP series. 

Chapter 6: Lessons on Flying and on Life

It was now a few days later after Elle's cauldron had exploded, making it Saturday. And Elle couldn't be happier to not have school for two full days. Classes had not gone over for her very well, for she seemed to have a nasty habit of making things blow up without even trying. In Transfiguration class they were supposed to practice transforming stationary objects (such as tables and chairs) into much more elaborate looking objects of the same kind. Elle had tried to transfigure a chair into a throne, but it somehow got blown into splinters by the time she was done with it. She was sure that all the professors, and the majority of students for that matter, considered her to be nothing but an accident waiting to happen. But Ron, Harry, and Hermione all stood beside her assuring her that she would get better with practice. 

However, there was one class that Elle was sure that she could handle, as it was the only class where she seemed to know what was actually being talked about. That class was Muggle Studies. They were studying muggle legends, myths, and other stories. The class was asked who Robin Hood was and Elle was the only one who knew the answer. She was quite proud of herself after she had told the class and the professor about the notorious archer, as it was her own favourite legend. But that class was about the only one she would find herself looking forward too.

Elle was now skateboarding on the paved part of the grounds out to where she was supposed to meet Draco for flying lessons. It was somewhat of a quiet morning as all the students were still in the Great Hall eating breakfast. There was to be a Quidditch match that afternoon, and from what Ron had told her about Quidditch, she was quite excited to see an actual game. 

And that's the reason she promised to meet Draco for flying lessons in the morning rather than in the afternoon as she was told that he would be playing today. He had actually sounded quite conceited when he reluctantly told her that he _had_ to help her with learning to fly and that the only time he would be able to do it was this morning. He had told her, "I _am head boy_ you know. I am quite busy, and it takes a lot of time out of one's agenda to help someone with lessons of any sort. But that's what the professors expect of me. So I _suppose_ I can do it on Saturday morning. Be on the Quidditch pitch at 8 o'clock sharp." And with that he walked away. She hoped that he would supply the broom because she had no idea if there was a special kind of broom that you used, or if they really did just use ordinary sweeping brooms to fly with.

Coming to the end of the paved part of the grounds, Elle kicked up her board and grabbed it with her hand. She walked out onto what Harry had earlier pointed out to be the Quidditch pitch to find a figure standing at the centre of it.

She walked up to the figure and found it to indeed be Draco. "Good morning," she smiled politely as she took off her helmet and set it on the ground beside her board.

However, Draco only replied with a small sneer and pushed a raggedy looking broom into her hands. "Here," he said through clenched teeth as though it was disgusting for him to touch her.

Elle held onto the broom and looked up at him questioningly. She saw that he held his own broom tightly and looked at her with cold features.

"_Well?_" he asked not bothering to hide the impatience in his voice.

"Well what?" she shot back with a confused look.

"Get flying. My patience is wearing thin," He mounted his own broom and hovered there waiting for her to do the same.

Elle raised her eyebrows at him, "Um…right. I would, but you seem to be forgetting that I don't know how to fly. Remember? That's why we're here in the first place."

"Right," he said with an ignorant sigh as he placed his feet back on the ground. "All you have to do is straddle the broom, like this," Draco paused as she did what he said. "Then you just kick off and go."

Elle watched him demonstrate and attempted to do what he had just done. But when she had kicked off, gravity pulled her back down again, just like it always had. She tried it a couple more times before she shook her head in defeat. "It's not working. Why can't I do it?"

Draco landed back on the ground again, "Probably because you're nothing but a stupid little mudblood." 

Elle had never heard the term 'mudblood' before, but she was pretty sure it was an insult. "Are you always this way?" she asked with a somewhat harsh tone.

Draco sneered at her, "What way?"

"Egotistical and self-centred?" She looked at him and saw the anger growing in his eyes. 

"What's it to you what I'm like?" he shot back.

"Well, I personally don't want to be around you if you're going to be like this all the time. People who are like that just aren't fun to be with at all. No offence, but it's no wonder that I hear the rest of the students talk so badly of you all the time. And I haven't been here for a full week yet!" She regretted saying those words when she saw a flicker of hurt cross through his eyes. "Hey, I'm sorry," she apologized as she placed a hand on his arm but he yanked it away.

He turned his back to her, "Who needs friends? I've got my looks, my Quidditch skills, my money, and I can get any girl into bed that I want."

Elle's face showed surprise as he said this, "So, you're one of _those_ kind of guys."

Draco spun back around, "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.

Elle raised her hands in defence. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. But I have to say that looks, Quidditch skills, and money won't get you everything you want in life. Not to mention that those girls probably only sleep with you because you have those three things." Her voice had grown soft as she told him this, unsure as to what his reaction would be. 

"It doesn't matter," he spat. "The Malfoy name is one of the most feared names in this world! We have all the money we need and people do as we say because they're _afraid_ of what we'll do if they don't abide by what we say."

Elle looked down at the ground before meeting his cold gaze again, "You say all this…yet I can't help but feel that you don't really want people to be afraid of you."

"What are you talking about?!" Draco was right up in her face now and was slightly surprised when she still looked upon him with a soft gaze. "Everyone is afraid of me and my family!"

Elle looked him square in the eye and shook her head, "I'm not."

Draco scoffed, "That's just because you're a muggle and don't know anything of this world, or about the Malfoy name."

"I know what I sense. And I sense that you have no real friends. That you become bored with the girls you sleep with and trying to live the way you're expected to." Elle paused as she saw him looking at her with softer eyes. "But I don't understand why you don't try to change." It came out more of a question than a statement.

Draco looked down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes from the embarrassment of being so easily read. He was stunned at all she had just said. He didn't want to admit it, but she had nailed everything. He didn't know how she did it! And for the first time, he felt like a small child - wanting so badly to say how he felt, but was scared at what she would think. So, all he could say was, "You wouldn't understand."

Elle placed another hand gently on his arm, "Try me."

Draco looked at her carefully before his eyes suddenly became clouded over in hate and anger once again. He ripped away from her grasp, "I don't have to explain anything to you." 

Elle's face showed slight hurt as he said that and she took a step back.

Draco gave her another hard look as he gripped his broom tighter and started to walk away, "I think that's enough practice for today."

Elle watched his retreating back until he disappeared from her sight. She couldn't help but feel pity for him. She knew what it was like to be an outcast, and although her personality was nowhere near compared to his, he was an outcast just like she always had been - just in a different way. It was true, even in just the last few days she had been here, she had seen girls attempt to fling themselves upon him whenever they could. But she also saw the look that he had on his face when this happened. It wasn't really a look of disgust, but it was more of a look of regret. But it was very hard to place, because the next morning you would always hear the girls talk about how great he is in bed. This disgusted Elle, quite frankly, but she just didn't understand why he did that kind of thing if he wasn't happy with doing it.

Elle started back up to the castle as she thought about how much she was actually intrigued by Draco. She couldn't explain why, but she wanted to get to know him…to become his friend if she could. It would probably be difficult because he seemed to have a wall built up around his heart. She had come very close today, she knew she had. But then something inside him seemed to just snap and that wall went back up. She would just have to try harder - to let him know that it's okay to let people in…that it's okay to have friends. She was determined for this to work. It seemed to her that his heart had lived in darkness for too long…

***Draco's POV***

What the hell is the matter with me? What was it that I was feeling? Did I actually think that she would want to hear about me and my pathetic little life? I can't believe I actually felt intrigued to tell her…to make her understand. I felt that she might possibly understand, somehow. The way she spoke to me…no one has ever done that before. No one has ever even shown an interest in the way _I _ feel before. _No!_ I can't think like this!! I can't tell her anything! My lord would not be pleased to know what had happened. That I actually became _weak_ for any amount of time. He would not be pleased. _I'm_ the one who is supposed to be finding out all I can about _her_. Not the other way around! I will have to be more cautious next time around…Things will have to go my way from here on in, or all hell is sure to break loose…


	8. Chapter 7: Dragon Heart

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Disclaimer: Same drill here as always. I don't own anything from the original HP series. I only own the plot and the character of Elle Carter.

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A/N: In this chapter, Elle and Draco become friends for the first time. It will blossom into something else in a later chapter, but for now they become friends. The storyline is starting to pick up and so things should start to become more interesting. I apologize if I seem to be rushing things a bit - but I really can't wait until I get to writing the last few chapters of this story. It should be a good read! *At least I hope it will be!* ^_^ Please don't forget to R&R!!

Chapter 7: Dragon Heart

Over the next couple of weeks or so, Elle had learned to settle in at her new school and was finding the learning process slowly getting easier and easier every day. This was largely due to the fact that she had a load of help from the professors during class time. But she also had Hermione and Draco to thank. Hermione had spent countless hours with her at night in the Gryffindor common room helping her with various subjects. Draco had helped her as well, but with much less enthusiasm. 

As hard as she tried, Elle just couldn't seem to get Draco to talk to her about anything. She would politely say hello to him if she ever passed him in the corridors, but he never seemed to reply. She didn't understand how he could never want to be around anyone else other than Crabbe and Goyle all the time. Those two seemed to be really mindless and stubbornly stupid. Surely he wasn't able to have an intelligent conversation with them? But then she figured that perhaps Draco always hung around them because they never gave him any grief. They never talked back to him with nothing other than a grunt. 

Elle was now in the Potions classroom mixing and cutting ingredients for the potion that Draco was teaching her how to brew. He stood behind her, watching her actions over her shoulder as to make sure that she didn't screw up for the third time in a row. They had now been down there for at least three hours to concoct a potion that Draco said he could do within a half hour at least. Both of them were somewhat frustrated now, Draco especially.

Elle was concentrating very hard on putting the ingredients together. So hard, in fact, that her brow was scrunched up in concentration, and the tip of her tongue was sticking out of her mouth. (A/N: I know this may sound strange, but I've been told that I do this whenever I'm concentrating really hard on something). Draco looked down at her scrunched features and a voice in his head commented on how cute she looked like that. He unconsciously let a small smile creep onto his face, as he couldn't help but agree with the voice. But once he realized what he was thinking, he mentally slapped himself and turned to focus on what she was doing.

"No! Are you that daft?! You're putting too much of the layweed in! The potion is-!" Draco had tried to stop her from spilling the rest of the layweed in her cauldron, but his harsh tone had made her jump and the whole vile of layweed dumped into the pot and the potion started to spurt up onto them, covering them both in the purple muck.

"Ruined," Draco finished his sentence. "Great, just great. You really are impossible, you know that don't you?" His tone had not one ounce of sympathy in it.

Elle turned around to face him and let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sorry!" She tried to shake the purple stuff from her hands, but ended up getting more on Draco in the process.

Draco roughly took hold of her arms and planted them down onto the desk. "Don't move! You're only making things messier!" he threatened her. 

Elle slumped onto a stool and held back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. She had become so frustrated - partly because of Draco's own harsh words to her whenever she screwed up, but also partly because she knew that she was a screw up in general. She could never seem to do anything right. Not for anybody.

Draco glanced over at her with a sneer, "What's your problem? I have more of the disgusting mess on me than you do." His voice was filled with conviction.

Elle looked at him, only this time with tears clouding her vision. "I just can't do right by you, can I? No matter how hard I try, or how nice I try to be to you, you ignore it all and belittle me in any way that you can."

Draco had stopped trying to clean up the mess and was looking at her carefully, unsure of what to say for once. He knew that she was frustrated, and he had been too. "I didn't ask for your friendship, you know. Nor did I ask to be your tutor." He had sounded more harsh than he had intended to.

"Yeah, well I didn't ask to be here either." Elle looked down at her hands as they were fiddling with a loose thread on her robes. "I don't even know why I'm here or how I got here." She took in a deep breath as a tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, hoping that Draco hadn't seen it.

Draco looked at Elle and felt immediate sympathy for her when he saw that single teardrop run down her cheek.. It reminded him of when his mother would cry when he was a little boy. He would always go to her and try to tell her that everything would be alright and that he would protect her. He knew now that it was very naive of him to think that way, for his father was a very powerful man and would often hurt his mother and him when he would get angry. And although he fought the urge he was feeling right now to run over to Elle and to embrace her and tell her that he was sorry, he couldn't. And before he knew what he had done, he was at her side helping her to clean the muck off of herself. 

Elle was so surprised when Draco had come over to her. At first she didn't know what to think. She was ready to move away from him when his hand came up to the side of her face and started to gently wipe away the purple muck. She looked into his normally cold eyes and saw something that she didn't think existed in him - kindness. "You don't have to do this," she said uncertainly.

For a brief moment, Draco's eyes met with hers and he couldn't help but feel guilt for the way he had treated her these last few weeks. For the very first time, he could see how scared she really was and that this world really was a different place for her to be in. 

Draco stood up to his full height, which he saw made Elle wince a little, and offered her his hand, "Here," he said with a gentleness to his voice.

Elle looked at his hand, not really sure what to do. But then she looked up into his eyes and didn't feel the fear that she once felt. She slowly reached up and took his hand.

Draco couldn't help but notice how soft her hand was as he pulled her to her feet. He took out his wand and aimed it at her. He mumbled a short spell as he still held onto her hand. He noticed that her eyes went slightly wider as he aimed his wand at her but then noticed that they went back to their normal size as she noticed that it was just a cleaning spell to get rid of all the muck that covered her robes.

"Thanks," Elle quietly said as she released from his grip.

Draco offered her a genuine smile as he nodded in reply.

Elle looked at him as he repeated the spell to clean off the desk. She felt very confused as to what brought about his sudden change in attitude. And as she gathered up her stuff she decided to ask. "Draco?" she asked softly.

Draco turned from what he was doing to look at her.

"What made you change back there? I mean, you were actually nice to me. And I don't think I've ever seen you smile before." Elle looked down at her hands before adding, "You have a nice smile."

It was Draco's turn to blush a little as she complemented him. He gestured for her to exit the room first as he thought about how to answer her. He felt like he could really talk to her. He felt as though he could be completely honest with her - and he liked that feeling. "Well," he started slowly, "when I saw you cry back there, you reminded me somewhat of my mother. When I was younger, she used to cry a lot. It was mostly due to my father. He didn't treat her very well." Draco sighed as if a painful memory was coming back to him. "I remember waking up one night and I heard someone crying. I snuck out of my bed and went down the hallway to see if I could find out who it was. It wasn't long before I was outside my parent's room trying to listen through the door. I knew then that it was my mother who had been crying and so I went into the room. And there she was, sitting on the floor beside the bed with her head in her hands. There was a broken vase at her feet and so I knew that there had been a fight. When she looked up at me, there was a large red spot on the side of her face where my father had hit her. She took me into her arms and stroked my hair like she so often did. I promised her that I wouldn't let him hurt her again, but I wasn't able to keep my promise to her. He was much too powerful for an eight year old boy to take on by himself." Draco's breath caught in his throat as if he was going to cry but didn't show any signs of tears. After a short pause, he continued, "She died just before I entered my sixth year in school. Lucius said that she had taken her own life, but I doubt that was the case. It was then that I promised myself that I would never be like my father." Draco then looked down at Elle, "But when I saw you cry, I realized that I had done that to you and that by doing that, I was becoming just like him."

Elle was speechless at what Draco had just told her. After some words had formed in her mind, she managed to bring them out, "I am so sorry about your mother, Draco. She must have been a good woman."

Draco let a small smile grace his otherwise solemn features, "She was."

Elle offered him a smile before looking down at her feet as they walked along.

"What about you?" Draco asked, hoping to get more of a happier tone going.

"What about me?" asked Elle slyly.

"Well, you said that you didn't ask to be here. So…how did you come about finding your way to Hogwarts?"

"Let's just say that it all started with a really bad day." Elle let out a small laugh as he looked more confused than she had ever seen him. 

"Oh, do tell," he mocked with hint of laughter in his eyes.

Elle noticed this and said, "Alright, if that's what you really want. But I gotta warn ya. My story has it all - action, drama, and a little bit of comedy…"

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A/N: Well, how was that? I figure that I don't need to tell Elle's story, since you all know what happened. If not, then you'd better go read the first couple chapters again! ^_^ Well that's all for now! I'll try and update soon!


	9. Chapter 8: Things That Go Bump In The Ni...

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and Elle. So please don't sue, because all you would get is a few cents.

Chapter 8: Things That Go Bump In The Night

Elle walked down to the Common Room the next morning with a much happier spirit than what she had owned in the past few weeks. For the first time, she was actually unaware of the smile that had dawned on her face as she walked up to her friends.

"Well," Hermione commented with her own smile, "You seem to be in a splendid mood this morning."

Elle laughed, though not intentionally, but knew that Hermione spoke the truth. She had never felt better. Last night had been the beginning of something for her and Draco and she was positive that she could now call him a friend. It was like they had reached an unspoken agreement or something with their newfound friendship. She couldn't wait to speak with him today.

After breakfast, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Elle all marched out of the Great Hall and to their first class which happened to be Transfiguration. 

They were about half way there when Elle looked ahead to see Draco, Crabbe and Goyle all walking towards them. And just as they were about to pass, Elle flashed Draco a wide grin and greeted him, "Hey, Draco."

But instead of the friendly greeting that she thought she would get from him, she received a cold glare, just like the one she received the first day she met him. She stopped walking and Hermione was the first one to take notice.

"Come on," she said softly, "he's nothing but a prat. He's not worth your good manners."

But Elle wasn't paying attention to her friend. Her features instead displayed hurt as Draco continued to walk by without saying a word. But before he could get too far, she called out softly, "Draco?"

Draco could hear the pain in her voice and wished that she would have just let him walk on by her without a word. But he knew he had to answer this time. He slowly turned to face Elle. He noticed that Hermione tried to tug at her arm again to get her to keep moving. Harry and Ron on the other hand looked as if they were ready to attack if given a reason to.

"What do you want mudblood?" he asked cooly without conviction.

Hermione gasped and looked at Elle.

Elle could feel that all eyes were on her, and so she didn't know if the red hue creeping into her cheeks was from embarrassment or because of the fact that she was saddened by the way Draco had ignored her. But in truth she felt as though she had been slapped across the face.

Draco saw the pain flicker through her eyes and knew that what he said had dealt her a blow. He felt his stomach drop for he knew he had hurt her deeply. 'If only she hadn't said anything else, I wouldn't have had to hurt her like this,' he thought. He felt bad for ignoring her and such, especially after the way she had listened to him the night before. It was true, he did care about her. After all they had talked about the night before - each sharing with the other something that was haunting their very existence - there was no way that a friendship couldn't evolve from something like that. He wished so badly that she could read his mind. If she could, then he would tell her that this is all some act to uphold who he has to be. Out of all the things that Draco shared with Elle the night before, he didn't tell her that he was a Deatheater or that he worked for Voldemort.

He remembered Voldemort telling him to get as close to Elle as he could to keep an eye on her, but he also knew that there was at least one other Deatheater at Hogwarts, and if he was seen being friends with her on a daily basis, then he was sure that Elle or himself would be put in danger. And he didn't want her to lose her life because of him. Before last night he wouldn't have given a damn if she had lived or died. But things change…people change. And now he knew that.

"You're a sick bastard, Malfoy," Ron's voice made him come back to reality.

"Well you're a _poor _bastard, Weasley," Draco retorted.

He looked towards Elle again and saw that her face was now expressionless. His mind was urging him to say something to her, but his mouth just wouldn't cooperate.

Elle couldn't believe how he was behaving! She was usually pretty good at seeing through people, but for some reason Draco had mislead her. She felt like such an idiot. Taking a deep breath, she gave one last glance at Draco, turned on her heel and walked away from him, with Hermione, Harry, and Rom following closely behind her but not before giving him a look of death.

Draco could do nothing but watch her retreating back wishing that he could have said something to her.

Just then he heard Crabbe and Goyle laughing at the reatreating Gryffindors. He turned to face them both and glared at them, "Shut it," he growled. He pushed his way between them and continued down the corridor. Crabbe and Goyle just shrugged stupidly at one another before following him.

******

Elle couldn't concentrate for the entire day for her mind was stuck on trying to figure out why Draco had acted like he did.

She was glad that she was now sitting comfortably in her pj's on her bed. She was brushing out her hair slowly, almost as if she was in a trance. Her mind kept running through what had happened in the corridors earlier that morning. It was like she kept hitting a rewind button and then allowed the event to play over and over and over again. She finally shook out of her thoughts and forced her mind to focus on something else. She uncrossed her legs and reached over for one of her textbooks that was sitting on her nightstand.

"Ah," she thought, "If a little bit of Wizard's History can't get me to sleep, then nothing can." She propped her back against her pillows and opened to the chapter that Hermione told her to read. She started to read, but only made it through the first couple of pages before she felt her eyes getting heavy. She tried to fight the urge to drift off but it was no use, because only minutes later she had fallen into a deep slumber.

~*~*_DREAM*~*~_

Elle could feel that her body was lying flat on something soft. She brushed the surface with her hand and knew by it's texture that it was grass. She opened her eyes and above her she could see a clear blue sky. She smiled as she felt the warmth on her face. She sat up and realized that she was sitting out in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch. She then heard her name being called from behind her, "Elle…"

She turned around and saw that it was Draco. She stood up and kept her eyes on him as he walked towards her. He smiled his handsome smile at her and she couldn't help but smile back. He then reached down and took her hands, kissing one and then the other.

"Draco?" she asked as his eyes met hers. "What happened to you today? Why were you acting like that?"

She noticed that his face immediately became very serious as he spoke his next words very quietly, "It's him…"

Elle searched his eyes for what he meant, "Who?"

Draco then gently stroked her jaw line with his thumb. "I won't let him hurt you…I promise."

Elle was starting to become very alarmed, "Who are you talking about? Tell me…"

Draco didn't answer, but instead bent in to kiss her forehead. "I promise…" he whispered.

Elle had closed her eyes at the feeling of his lips brushing on her skin, but suddenly felt his grip get a lot tighter on her hands. She then opened her eyes and screamed at what she saw. It was a face unlike she had ever seen. It was very old and scabbed. The eyes had no colour to them and the skin dripped with blood. But yet…the lips formed into a smile. A very disturbing smile.

Elle screamed again as she tried to pull away but found that she wasn't able to move. It was like she was paralysed. The bony hands reached up for her neck and gripped it tightly. She tried to scream again, but found that all her air had been cut off and she was struggling desperately to breathe. She tried to will the creature to let go of her but found herself growing weaker by the second. 

Just when she thought she was as good as dead, she felt the ground break out from under her and her attacker releasing his grip from around her neck. She could then feel herself begin to fall down into the pitch blackness that was below her…

*~*~*END OF DREAM*~*~*

"_Ahhhhhh…!_" Elle cried out as she sat straight up. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she realized that she was no longer on her bed, but instead on the floor with the covers wrapped around her. She was panting heavily and noticed for the first time that there was something underneath her. She pulled it out from under her and noticed that it was the textbook that she had been reading before she fell asleep.

"Damn," she thought to herself as she got up off the floor and back onto her bed. "That was some dream."

As she got comfortable again, she was quite surprised that her room mates were still snoring away in the safety of their own sleep. She wished that her body would escape from the tenseness that it was now in. She was also sure that she would find it difficult to get back to sleep after having a nightmare like that. She wasn't sure why she had one though. She usually only had one after watching a horror movie. Elle tried to force her mind to wander to more pleasant things, but she still wasn't able to get rid of that face. She thought it was the creepiest thing she had ever seen and wished that it would disappear completely from her mind. But unfortunately, she wouldn't get anymore sleep that night. But what the morning light would make her see, even she wouldn't guess…

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A/N: Things are going to start to get a little darker from here on in. The first disappearance of a student will occur in the next couple of chapters probably as well. How am I doing so far guys? Is it sounding alright? Please don't forget to review!!! ^_^ Later!


	10. Chapter 9: The First Disappearance

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you might recognize from the original HP series.

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A/N: Hey all! Sorry that it took me awhile to get this updated. But I started my summer job! Man, was I beat when I got home! 48 and a half hours in one week - and don't get paid overtime!! It'll take a little bit of getting used to - I'm part waitress, part bartender, part chef, part maid! (the jobs I'll take to make enough money to keep me in school! Gees!)- but I will try and keep up with my updates okay? Please review? Please, please, please, please? You know how much reviews mean!! Please? Okay, enough of that. I'll let you get on with the reading now!

Chapter 9: The First Disappearance 

Elle sat up in her bed, rubbing her tired eyes for the third time in the last five minutes. She yawned unintentionally and turned her head towards the window. Rays of light came into the room, indicating to her that it was already morning. But the soft snoring sounds coming from the other beds in the room told her that it was still pretty early.

'This is nuts,' she thought to herself as she swung her feet over to the side of the bed and pushed herself up. She allowed herself a big stretch and thought about how tired she felt. 'Stupid nightmare,' she thought as she walked into the bathroom to get ready to go down to breakfast. She noticed that the floor was quite cold under her bare feet, but all in all that wasn't an entirely bad thing because she seemed to feel more awake.

She leaned on the sink as she glanced into the mirror. "Oh man, I look like death," she spoke out loud as she examined the black circles under her eyes. 

She then turned on the taps and felt the cool rush of the water on her hands. She cupped them under the water and splashed it onto her face. She repeated this a couple of times before she grabbed her towel and started to pat her face dry. 

But just as she was about to catch the water that was dripping down her neck, something caught her eye. At first, she thought it was just a little irritation from where she had wiped her neck with the towel. But as she leaned closer into the mirror, she could see that it was no mark of irritation. The redness went all the way across her neck - it looked like a pair of handprints; like someone had tired to strangle her and their hands had burnt a mark into her flesh. 'How is this possible?' she asked herself as she rubbed the redness gently. She knew that no one had touched her - not while she was awake anyways. Her eyes then widened in shock as the dream came back into her mind once again. "It can't be.." she said out loud this time. A sudden rush of fear rose inside of her and her mind was rushing through other possible explanations to explain the redness. Her face fell as she realized that there were no other explanations…that as impossible as the reality of the dream was…it was her only explanation.

Then, looking carefully into the mirror to make sure that it wasn't only an illusion, Elle let out an exasperated sigh as she then turned out of the bathroom and back into the sleeping chambers to get dressed, while thoughts of confusion still rushed through her mind.

Once Elle had dressed herself and had her hair pulled back, she went down to the common room and plopped herself into one of the cushioned seats.

She hadn't been there very long when she heard one of the doors opening and closing and footsteps coming down the steps. She turned to find Seamus, Harry, and Ron emerging from their dorm.

"Elle," Seamus addressed her, "Neville hasn't been down here has he?"

Elle looked up at Seamus from where she sat, her brow scrunched a tiny bit. "No, I haven't seen him. Why?"

"We can't find him," Harry replied.

"Yeah," added Ron, "he left his bed unmade, but all his books are still on top of his trunk."

"Well maybe he just beat us all down to breakfast," Elle suggested.

"Maybe," said Seamus as he started towards the portrait hole. "But it's just not like him to be up this early."

"Let's go see. Maybe Elle is right. Maybe he's just in the Great Hall." Harry and Ron started to follow Seamus before Harry turned back, "Elle, are you coming?"

"Yeah," she said as she pushed herself up and ran to catch up to the other three. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't push away the uneasy feeling that was starting to rise in the pit of her stomach.

********

There was absolutely no sign of Neville throughout the rest of the day. Elle, Harry and Ron had all spoken to the other Gryffindors and most of the other students to see if they had seen him but no one had. 

It was now last class of the day and Elle had started to become very worried about her potions' partner. She looked over at the empty seat beside her and felt that uneasy feeling creep up inside of her once again. She tried hard to concentrate on the lesson that Snape was teaching the class but found her mind starting to wander instead. She started fiddling with the quill that she held in her hand and looked up again towards the front of the room where Snape had begun to write something up on the board. She went to start copying down the notes on her parchment, but found her attention drawn to something a mere few feet from where Snape himself was standing.

A grey mist had started to gather and Elle's eyes went wide with curiosity. She quickly darted her eyes around the room but no one else had seemed to notice the grey mist. Her eyes then fell back onto the mist as it just grew and grew. Snape's voice had now been drowned out by the thoughts that now flooded her head. 

As Elle continued staring into the mist, she began to notice shapes forming. Her concentration did not waver whatsoever as her curiosity now held her full attention. After only a few seconds a face came into view. Elle squinted slightly trying to reason with her mind that what she was seeing couldn't be real. But the face went from looking normal to becoming twisted into painful features. And Elle was sure that the face was screaming out in pain. She let a small gasp escape her lips as she immediately recognized the face as it was now only a few feet from herself. Her eyes never left the contorted image as she felt the fear rise up inside of her. Her breathing even became somewhat faster. "No, it can't be…" she said so quietly that only she could hear.

As the face inched closer to her, she noticed that it began to change form. And then all of a sudden she felt a rush of hot air flow past her parting the smoke in front of her. She hardly had time to react to what she saw next. It was the same face from her dream and he was reaching out towards her. She could hear his voice in her head and she fell backwards from the shock of this demon face rushing towards her. 

She fell with a loud clunk onto the hard floor. She had hit her head but hardly noticed the pain as she quickly looked up to see nothing but the eyes of her peers and professor looking at her like she had sprouted two other heads. 

Snape calmly walked over to her and looked down with a cold stare. "It would be very humorous to uncover the reason as to why you have just interrupted my lesson Miss Carter!"

Her breathing was still fast paced as she found her voice, "It was him…" she spoke quietly from where she still sat on the hard dungeon floor.

"Who?!" demanded Snape as a hint of humour played on his face.

Elle looked up at him with more fear than he had ever seen a student show. She whispered her answer, "…Neville."


	11. Chapter 10: Blaise's Warning

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A/N: I know that this chapter has been a really long time coming and I'm so sorry!! But I'm finally done work for the summer now and will hopefully be able to upload a couple of new chapters in the next few days before school begins. Please don't forget to review okay? Thanks!

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter. The only characters I own are those that you don't recognize from the original HP series.

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Chapter 10: Blaise's Warning

Elle couldn't remember a time where she felt as anxious and nervous as she did right now. Here she was sitting in Dumbledore's office with her hands clasped tightly on her lap and her eyes on the floor. She could feel the intense anxiety in the atmosphere as several professors paced back and forth around her. They were all waiting for Dumbledore.

Elle thought back to the incident in Snape's class earlier that afternoon. She remembered how students had gasped when she had whispered Neville's name and how Snape had looked almost as petrified as she had felt. And, the next thing she knew, she had been sent to the headmaster's office with Snape close at her heels.

Elle had only snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up only to find that her eyes met Dumbledore's.

"So," he began in a strangely calming way, "I've been told that you have claimed to see Neville…in a vision of sorts?"

Elle swallowed hard. She wasn't quite sure if Dumbledore's tone meant that he believed her or not. "With all due respect, sir," she began, "I don't _claim_ to have seen him…I _know_ I saw him."

Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully for a few moments before giving her a reassuring look. He turned to face the rest of the room's occupants. "Professors," he began almost gravely, "We have a situation on our hands. Since Neville's disappearance, I have feared for the safety of our other students as well. And it seems that I was right to have that fear." He then turned to Snape, "Severus, is there no new developments on Neville's whereabouts?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore with unreadable black eyes, "No, headmaster, but I will keep trying. I think I have some new leads."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, "Keep working on it Severus. Let me know of any new developments. Any at all."

Snape nodded curtly and walked quickly from the room.

"Albus," Professor McGonnagall inquired, "what does this all mean. Why would He Who Must Not Be Named go after Longbottom. It's Potter he's always been after. Is this just another way for him to try and get to Potter? What does this mean for the rest of the students?"

Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully as if giving her question some thought. He looked around at the others standing in the room and noticed that all eyes were upon him awaiting an answer. However, he also noticed that one pair of eyes were not focused on him but instead upon the floor. He took a few steps towards Elle before he spoke, "Minerva," he addressed the answer to her but his eyes were still focused on the young girl, "I believe that the past is not always to be repeated. That there are always exceptions to the rule and that Voldemort has finally realized that."

Elle could feel his gaze upon her and was almost frightened to look up. But she forced out a breath and looked into Dumbledore's wise features.

"I also believe that the students of Hogwarts are all in danger if he isn't stopped immediately. He has found a new way to try and accomplish what he has been trying to do for the past eighteen years. But there is hope - a single person holds the key to destroy him. It's only a matter of whether or not they are able to realize that they are the one who holds it."

Minerva looked from Elle to Dumbledore and back again. She was completely flabbergasted that he actually thought that she was the one. She had seen her work in class and she lacked much to be the one that the prophecy spoke of. And yet they all had high hopes for this young girl. But it still seemed a silly idea. "But Albus, this girl-"

"Is the one that the prophecy says will save us." Dumbledore finished for her.

Elle felt her face flush a deep red. She was still sure that they had the wrong girl for the job and the looks on the other professors' faces proved that they were somewhat hesitant as well.

Minerva pursed her lips together to keep her from saying how she really felt because she didn't want to hurt the young girl. She could tell that even she didn't believe him. "Well, yes, I suppose she could be the one." Her voice was unconvincing, however.

"We must all be careful. With any luck, Voldemort does not yet know that she is the one of prophecy. As long as he doesn't know - I think we still hold the upper hand." Dumbledore looked around at all the professors before speaking again, "I will expect you all to inform your houses of what is going on. Let them know that no one is to go off alone at anytime in the day and if someone sees anything peculiar then they are to immediately inform a professor. Is this all understood?"

The professors all nodded and one by one started to leave the room. Elle got up as well but as she was about to follow after the professors, Dumbledore's voice caught her.

"Elle," he spoke and waited until she had turned to face him. He let silence hang between them for a very brief moment before continuing, "You will have to find your strength in where your heart lies before you will be able to become who you were destined to be."

Elle heard his words but didn't really understand them. "Headmaster…?"

Dumbledore cut her off before she was able to finish her thought, "Follow where your heart and spirit lead you. Only then will you be able to understand what you are confused about now." And with a small smile and a twinkle of the eye, he headed back towards his desk.

The large door began to shut in front of Elle, and she wasn't quick enough to get a word in. She looked at the door wishing that she understood what he had meant. 'The man always talks in riddles. Why won't he just tell me what he means?' she thought silently to herself as she descended the spiral staircase.

She continued walking with her head down thinking about what had just happened as she continued up to the Gryffindor tower. But her thoughts were immediately caught short when she bumped into something in front of her.

"Do watch where you're going, mudblood," came the snide remark as she snapped her head up at the voice. Her look was met by a scowl on the face of a Slytherin. Blaise Zabini to be exact.

Elle had learned that Slytherins, (or 99.9% of them), deserved no apology at any time. And so remembering this fact, she tried to go around him instead of ending up with a confrontation that would probably lead to her getting the wand whipping. (She did well to remember that Blaise had had magical training possibly all his life, while she had just had the past few months).

Blaise ended up stepping in front of her to block her path. She tried again but he still did the same. A wide smirk had appeared on his face.

"Out of my way Zabini!" Elle demanded in an uncharacteristic tone for her.

"Or what?" Blaise countered cockily. "You'll blast me into oblivion?" His smirk widened.

Elle's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She may not have been very good at magic but she had a decent left hook if provoked long enough. "What do you want?" The bitterness of her voice showed her great dislike for the Slytherin.

For every step that Blaise took towards her, she took a step back. She didn't want him too close. But even that thought failed as she soon found her back against the cold stone wall.

Blaise brought his face right up to her own and his warm breath against her cheek made her feel extremely uneasy.

Feeling her anxiety, Blaise let a smile escape his lips and brought his hand up to her cheek. "It's such a pit that something as pretty as you had to be born in the muggle world."

Elle slapped his hand away in a quick movement and said, "Somehow I don't think you came here to work your _charms_ on me, so I'll ask you one more time - _what do you want?_" She had said the last part slow, an insult of sorts to Blaise's intelligence.

Blaise caught the gist and an uncontrollable surge of anger rose in him. He grabbed roughly onto her wrists and held them with a strength that made her wince. "I warn you now mudblood, _don't_ get me angry." 

Elle could feel his breath on her face. She tried to keep a level face but felt the fear rise up in her throat. "Then tell me what you want," her voice came out quiet and a little timid.

Blaise knew that he held authority over her at the moment and he wanted her to be scared. "I just wanted you to know that you don't belong here." His voice was snide as he pulled her roughly into his chest. His voice then became very dark and it chilled Elle right to the bone. "He knows that you're here. He knows that you are of no match for him as well. He laughs at your attempts to fit in." Blaise paused as the words sank into Elle's mind.

"Why are you telling me this?" her eyes were wide and her voice was a whisper.

"Because I want you to be frightened, as you well should be. You should fear for your life. In fact, you better start thinking about the people you will be leaving behind - for you will never return to the muggle world." He grinned before adding, "well not alive anyways." He let out a small laugh.

Elle could feel herself begin to tremble just a little under his grasp. Blaise noticed too.

He lowered his head to her neck and breathed in her scent. A barely audible moan escaped his lips as he whispered into her ear, "Like I said before - what a waste…"

Elle closed her eyes as a sudden fear froze her entire body. She couldn't find the will power to push him away. But just then she felt him jerk away from her and she looked up.

"What the hell are you doing, Zabini?" It was Draco's angry voice.

Blaise challenged him with an even glare, "I should ask the same of you. Couldn't you see I was in the middle of something?"

Draco rose above Zabini as his eyes challenged him, "Leave her alone."

Blaise was almost taken aback. He looked at Draco in question, before realizing something. He stepped towards him ignoring the challenging look in his eyes. "Are you going soft? For a mud blood no less?" 

Draco stayed silent. It was true, he had developed a soft spot for her. But even if he were to deny it, Blaise would know it was true. He had a way of knowing these things. The Slytherin was as cunning as he was deceitful. 

Blaise shook his head in disgust. "You were the last person I'd expect this from Malfoy. You of all people know the consequences of such actions." Blaise stepped towards Malfoy and said the words quietly so that Elle couldn't hear them. "You better choose your fate fast Malfoy. Our Lord's plan has already been set in motion. You do not want to be on the losing side." Blaise threw a look back at Elle and then looked back to Draco. "Choose wisely, my friend." And with one last warning glare at him, he started off into the direction of the dungeons.

Draco was left looking after him with his mind swirling of anger, fear, and anticipation. Blaise was right. He had worked so hard to get where he was in the Dark Lord's good graces (so it would seem) that he would have to be damned if he let Elle ruin it for him.

But just then he felt a light touch on his arm. He looked down and found that his gaze came to rest on Elle. She gave him a smile and a look of sincerity in her eyes.

And for the first time in his life, Draco's heart melted at the sight of any smile.


	12. Chapter 11: Shy Innocence

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you might recognize from the original HP series.

Please don't forget to review!! ^_^

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Chapter 11: More Disappearances

A week had passed since that night and Draco and Elle had spent a lot of time together. It was mostly study sessions, but they had even begun to be together in their spare time as well. 

They were now walking out of the library talking about the Potions paper that Draco had just helped Elle to write.

"So, once you understand the basics of the potions' properties, the rest is simple." Draco looked down at the girl walking beside him and gave a smirk at the look on her face.

"It's easy for you to say, mister-know-it-all," Elle joked as she readjusted her bag on her shoulder, "You've been doing magic long before I even knew that it existed."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I guess I was born with more than just my good looks!" He tried his best to put on a cocky smirk. 

Elle looked at him and held back her laughter. She punched him hard in the shoulder and said, "Only you could think that you have the looks that even the Gods would envy."

Draco let out a small laugh as he playfully hit her back. Even now he couldn't believe how at ease he was with her. He even had to admit that they had become fairly close over the past week and she knew quite a bit about him. He had kept it to a minimum of course, but yet it was like they had been friends their whole life. He then looked down at her again as she continued on talking about the Quidditch game that would take place the next day. All of a sudden, he got this funny feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite place. Was she the cause of this feeling, he wondered? Her voice suddenly become lost as Draco become caught up in his own thoughts, 'Merlin, she's beautiful…'

He was then brought back into reality when Elle jabbed him in the ribs. A mocked pain look came onto his face as he laughed, "What was that for?"

Elle looked up to him with slight concern showing in her features before looking back to the crowd of students that surrounded them. "I said," she repeated, "Have you seen Millicent Bulstrome lately?"

Draco looked at her incredulously. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Draco!" Elle half scolded with a stern look on her face. "Did you not just hear what Colin Creevey said when he walked by with his friends?"

"Would I even care what the little bug-eyed Gryffindor has to say?" Draco shot back easily while shoving his hands into his pockets.

Elle tried to ignore his nastiness but continued, "Word has it that Millicent has disappeared. No one has seen her for the last two days."

Draco stopped in his tracks. Longbottom disappearing was one thing. The Dark Lord said something about a plan involving Hogwarts students. But a Slytherin? Just what _was_ his plan, Draco wondered.

"Are you okay?" Elle asked as she was now stopped just a few feet ahead of Draco.

Draco looked at her for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Elle looked at him carefully before falling back into step with him again while they entered the Great Hall.

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It was now two weeks later and the whole school was starting into a state of panic. There had been two other disappearances; Hannah Abott from Hufflepuff, and a first year student named Dane Jones from Ravenclaw. It had been rumoured that the school was going to close but as of yet, the professors had not confirmed nor denied the rumours. Instead, students had been instructed to travel with at least one other person everywhere they went - even to classes. No one was to be out of their common rooms past eight o'clock, and if anyone saw anything suspicious they were to report to their head of house immediately.

Elle was now walking past a group of fourth year girls in the Gryffindor common room and couldn't help but notice they immediately went quiet when spotting her. This made her feel sad that people thought she was somehow responsible for the disappearances - but that's how it had been for the last week. She had almost become accustomed to the hushed whispers she would hear whenever she walked by. Not many students outside her year would spoke to her and students in seventh year would only talk to her if she spoke to them first. 

She walked up to where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting and noticed how they too became silent as soon as she sat down with them. The silence was immediately uncomfortable before Hermione greeted her first, "Hullo Elle."

Elle looked at her and nodded her greeting. She had been wanting to ask these three something for the last week but had never had the courage to. She wasn't sure if it was because she was scared to voice the question, or if she was scared to hear the answer. "Umm…" she started uneasily. She looked up at her three friends only to find Harry and Hermione looking her in the eye. "Do you guys think I'm the one responsible for what happened to those students?" She looked down at her feet shyly before looking back up only to realize that no one was looking at her. Elle frowned when no one answered her, "Guys?" 

Ron cleared his throat, "Well…I mean…you…that is…" 

Elle looked at him with hurt features.

Harry saw the pain on her face and attempted to comfort her, "Elle, what Ron means to say is that…we…" Harry's eyes went from her and then to the ground. "Well…it's just that we…" Harry wasn't making things any better and Elle felt even more hurt.

Desperately she turned to the only one who hadn't said anything as of yet, "Hermione?"

Hermione looked at Elle with a sympathetic expression on her face. "Elle, of course we don't think that you are the one responsible. It's just that…well…" she struggled to find the right words.

"Well what?" Elle said without much patience.

"It's just that things really started to get kind of…out of the ordinary…after you came to Hogwarts…" she tried to choose her words carefully but noticed that they really didn't come out the way she had wanted. 

Elle looked down to the ground trying to fight off the sadness that was overtaking her. Even her friends thought that it may have been possible she had some part in it all. "I see…" she said unable to hide the sadness in her voice. "So you do think that I had something to do with the disappearances…"

"No, that's not true," Harry said softly putting a hand on her shoulder. "We know that you would never do something like that-"

"Then what, Harry? Huh? What is it?" Elle whispered in a quivering voice. "Don't think I don't notice the way everyone becomes quiet when I walk into a room - the way you all became quiet when I came to sit with you just now…"

"Elle, it's just that-" Hermione tried to explain but to no avail as Elle put up a hand to silence her friend.

"No. Please, don't." She hesitantly brushed Harry's hand from her shoulder and stood up to face the three of them. "I don't want to hear lies from you. You are all my friends, and I thank you for that." She took a deep breath as she tried to hold back tears. "Perhaps everyone is right. Maybe I do have something to do with all of this. The only question is…how?" She looked at them one last time with a vacant expression before turning on her heel and heading out of the common room. 

As soon as Elle heard the portrait click shut behind her she broke into a run, not knowing - nor caring, where she was going. She felt so confused. She wasn't watching where she was going as her vision was clouded by her tears. So when she came to a short set of stairs, she stumbled thanks to her own clumsiness and could feel herself falling down. She didn't make any attempt to stop herself from falling and landed hard on her side.

Elle carefully sat up and winced through her quiet sobs at the pain that went shooting through the side of her torso. She didn't know what hurt more now - the pain in her heart, or the pain in her side. She attempted to get up to her feet, but she stumbled again back onto the cold floor.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands grab her gently from behind and pull her up to her feet. "Elle?" she heard a voice ask.

She turned around and could make out a head of platinum blond hair through her blurred vision. She continued to look around at her surroundings and found that she had ended up in the dungeons.

Draco grabbed onto her waist to hold her steady as she began to loose her balance once more. "Elle, what's wrong?" He felt his heart wrench at the sight of her tear streaked face.

Elle looked back to him and her mind finally registered as to who it was. "Draco…? I…It's all my fault…"

Draco looked at her with concern etched in his features, but Elle didn't notice. "Come on," he said as he took her hand and began to guide her into the empty Potions' classroom.

"Now," he started quietly, "Tell me what happened." However, he had a feeling that he knew what this was all about. He, too, had heard the gossip around the school about the potential danger that Elle may be to them all. If they only knew, he thought.

Elle looked down at her feet and a few silent teardrops fell to the floor. "It's my fault they're gone," she whispered before looking back at Draco. "I don't know how, but I know that it's my fault."

Draco took her hands and looked her straight in the eye. "I don't think it's your fault. In fact, I know that it's not your fault." Uh oh, he thought silently. I shouldn't have said that. But yet he knew that he didn't like seeing her like this - he had to say something, even if he wasn't sure what had caused him to say it. Was this betraying his master's trust? Probably.

Elle looked up at him hopefully, "How do you know that?"

Draco looked at her, his gaze unwavering, "Because I know you…you don't have it in you to kidnap students."

Elle let a small smile escape from her lips. "Thank-you," she said quietly as she reached up to give him a hug. He didn't know how just that one simple statement had made her feel. She felt as though he truly believed her - believed in her.

Draco was caught somewhat off-guard as he felt her arms tighten around him. But then he began to relax as he took in her surprisingly feminine scent. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist and he buried his head into her neck, "Everything will work out…I promise."

Both stood there in each other's embrace for a few more seconds before reluctantly pulling apart. However, they had next come face to face and were still standing incredibly close together. Elle looked up at Draco almost shyly as she felt her breath catch in her throat. What was this feeling she was getting? Her stomach had never felt all weird like this before.

Draco looked down into Elle's violet eyes and knew that there was no way he could stop himself from what he was about to do. But just then, her eyes dropped once more to the floor. "Ah," mused Draco to himself with a small smile on his face. "Such innocence she has." He tilted her chin upward so that their eyes met again. Draco then cupped her face in his hands so that they wouldn't loose eye contact again. He then started leaning in closer and closer so that their lips would meet.

Elle could feel her heart pounding in her chest and couldn't help but wonder if Draco could hear it too. She knew what he was going to do and she thought that time had actually stopped while she waited for their lips to connect. 

They finally did and Elle was surprised at how soft the kiss was. She could feel Draco gently probing with his tongue to gain entry into her mouth and she opened just a little bit to allow him access.

Draco moved his hand down to Elle's waist as she moved her hand and gently ran her fingers over the back of his neck. Draco felt a great rush of contentment flow through him and pulled Elle even closer towards him. He slowly deepened the kiss and lifted her up so that she was sitting up on a desk with her legs straddling him.

Elle couldn't describe what she was feeling at that moment as she brought her hand down and placed it onto his chest. She felt such a surge of happiness flowing through her that it would be impossible to describe to an outsider. She mused over what would happen when she told Draco that he was the first guy that she had ever kissed. She smiled at the thought…

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'Stupid Snape and his stupid essays,' thought Blaise bitterly as he made his way through the dungeons towards the potion's classroom. He had forgotten his textbook and hadn't even started the essay that was due tomorrow. Blaise continued cursing to himself about his 'bloody luck' and went to turn into the classroom. But he stopped short and immediately went back around the corner when he saw who was _in_ the room - apparently not doing their homework, either.

Blaise looked on with narrowed eyes at Draco snogging the Carter girl. 'This is good,' thought Blaise with a smirk. He knew that Voldemort had told Draco to get close to Elle, and this was a possibility, but there was something in the way that Draco touched her - he was _gentle_. Blaise had never known Draco to be gentle with any girl. He had seen him in action quite a few times - accidentally of course - but Draco was known for snogging in the strangest of places, even having…*ahem*…well you know, when he was supposed to be in class. And he was _never_ gentle about it. No Slytherin ever was from what he heard. He definitely wasn't, that's for sure.

'Malfoy, my friend, you have made one terrible mistake…' Blaise left his spot at the entrance of the classroom. Delivering news of this to Voldemort was definitely worth getting a zero on his essay.


End file.
